The Mirror-Bearer

(6th century, Classic Maya, Guatemala or Mexico)

This carving is what is known as the Mirror-Bearer, a rear object that was used by the Maya. To hold a mirror, in between his folding arms and crisscrossed legs. The mirror that sits on his lap is either a square mirror or a rounded one. Made from either of these two materials, obsidian or pyrite. While the Mirror-Bearer is made from wood and was rubbed with red powder to give this piece the color it has. The Mirror-Bearer would have been brighter when first created, but there are still remains of this red color within the figure's cloth and jewelry. 

Being made from wood, some of the material has either been destroyed or had deteriorated throughout the years from being made. Other details on the Mirror-Bearer show a necklace that could have been a replica of a jade stone necklace. Jade was important to the Mayans, as it had spiritual and religious significance. There are also earrings that show a reptile figure. As well as having an interesting cloth that wraps around the Mirror-Bearer. Something that isn't usually seen in Mayan art or sculptures. 

The other reason this figure was created; was to be an example of what humans should look like while holding a mirror. Those people responsible for holding the mirror were held with high regard. A dwarf was that person and was seen as special people because of their size. Were there for the purpose of a ruler to view himself through the mirror that is being held. Although we physically have this figure in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, we are not sure where this figure came from. Some might guess this originated from Guatemala or Mexico.




Dr. James Doyle and Dr. Beth Harris, "Mirror-Bearer," in Smarthistory, February 7, 2017, accessed November 14, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/mirror-bearer/.



Comments

  1. Jake, of "Jake Writes a Blog"November 18, 2020 at 10:39 PM

    Hey David,
    This was a really great post to read. I appreciate posts as detailed as this. This figure is intriguing to say the least. It's sad that some of the figure has been destroyed/has deteriorated. The history behind the posture of the figure and the esteemed position one held to be in this position. I wonder what identification processes were used to establish its origin and what could possibly improve and finally cement where this piece came from. Overall, this was a really great post.

    ReplyDelete

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